Tigers honor 1984 team; ‘One of the greatest teams that ever played together’

Fans flock to the Big Cat Court at Comerica Park to take part in a question-and-answer session with the 1984 Tigers team that was the last to win the World Series for the franchise. The 30-year anniversary of that season was recognized with a ceremony before Monday’s game.
MATTHEW B. MOWERY — The Oakland Press

• “My dad and I were on the right field upper deck railing for the AL clincher, and behind home plate for the WS clincher!” — Timothy Steere

• “Vindication on the school bus and Trammel on the cover of SI in my elementary school library” — @tigerexile on Twitter

• “The photo says it all. Sadly most of the team was gone within a couple of years. We’ll always remember that photo of Gibby along with Sweet Lou and Tram, the best double play combination in baseball.” — Neil Baxter

• “Looooou! Kirk had great hair! The double plays! It was a great time to be a Tiger Fan. In those days you could get tickets to a double header and enjoy two games !!” — Sarah Lewis

• “I vaguely remember a Tigers bumper sticker on the siding of our house in Detroit, and the celebration of course.” — Lena Khzouz

• “By far, the best memory is 35-5 — Wayne Reif

• “I lived in Detroit.......it was the year I graduated from high school, and my giant Grand Marquis had the bumper sticker that said “Tigers Roar in 84”. It was an awesome summer!” — Barb Meyers

• “My fiancée worships that team. Trammel is his favorite. He watched every game! Makes gift giving easy! Any memorabilia from that team is the perfect choice!!” — Kim Davis Eller

• “My brother was being born and one of the Detroit Tigers wives was having a baby in the room next door.” — Allyson Lejzorowicz

DETROIT >> The park they played in no longer exists, but the memories will never fade.

A little older, maybe a lot grayer, the core of the 1984 World Series champion Detroit Tigers squad visited Comerica Park Monday evening for a ceremony honoring the 30-year anniversary of their championship season.

Every five years or so, they show up for one of these, still honored as the last Tigers team to hoist the big trophy at the end of the season.

And still beloved.

“A lot. Shows me that the Ilitch family, Mr. Ilitch — a great Tiger fan and a great Tiger owner — could take time out to ... show the fans the team we had. We had one of the best teams to ever hit a ball field. Just to recognize that,” said Dave Rozema, who visited the site of the old Tiger Stadium at the corner of Michigan and Trumbull with Lou Whitaker Monday morning.

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“In my mind, I think it’s one of the best teams that played in our era of baseball. ... Our team from one to nine, we were unstoppable. ... I thought maybe we could’ve won more.”

After a pregame ceremony, the keystone combination of Whitaker and Alan Trammell — the former Tigers manager, who is now the bench coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks — reprised their roles from their playing days, turning the ceremonial first pitch into a ceremonial double play.

While that team will always be remembered for the 35-5 start, going wire-to-wire for the win, there will always be the thought that maybe a team stacked with that much talent could’ve won more.

The ’84 Tigers think so, too.

“We had a great team, a great manager. Great coaches, awesome starting lineup. Helluva bench,” Whitaker said, when asked how history will remember that squad. “As one of the greatest teams that ever played together — just one year now. We thought we could do it more, but we had some unfortunate injuries. ... (The) 1984 (Tigers) was probably the best team that ever walked on a baseball field, in my personal opinion. There’ve been some great ones now.”

He’s not the only one. That sentiment was nearly universal in the room Monday.

“Oh my gosh — we thought we’d be good for a long period of time. We thought we were built, with a nucleus that was in their mid-20s ... Now, looking back, we found out how difficult it really is. You know what? At least I can say we won one,” Trammell said.

“I will say this: Even though we only won the one world championship, we did have a great group of guys. In the decade of the ‘80s, we were as good as there was in baseball. Again, we only won the one world championship, but we were a pretty darned good organization for a good period of time. I look back very fondly on those days.”

So do the fans, who flocked to the park early, to line up for the replica 1984 road jerseys given out to the first 20,000 fans, and to lob questions at the Tigers themselves in a question-and-answer session.

Why do the Tigers — dubbed “Bless You Boys” or “The Roar of ’84” — still resonate three decades later?

“It’s a good question, but you could say the same thing about the 1968 team. Everybody talks about what shape the city was in after the riots and everything,” Dan Petry said. “Everything that Willie Horton did, and you’ve got the (Al) Kalines and (Denny) McLains and (Mickey) Loliches, and on and on and on — I don’t think it’s necessarily just the ’84 team. I think Michigan, and all the surrounding areas just love the Detroit Tigers. And when you have a winner like that, I don’t think they’ll ever forget you.”

About the Author

Detroit Tigers beat writer for The Oakland Press in Pontiac, Michigan. Mowery has spent 19 years covering sports, from preps to pros. He’s been honored with more than 25 awards for writing. Reach the author at matt.mowery@oakpress.com
or follow Matthew B. on Twitter: @MatthewBMowery.